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#livelikePaul

A year ago today a man I never met died. I had never met his wife, although friends of mine know them. But he was one of those rare gems, those people who you see their story play out on Facebook, through email… and you are touched. You pour your heart and soul into praying for them, for their families. Sometimes they are a baby or a child, like Celeste. Sometimes it’s a famous person, like Joey Feek, who has a whole fan base cheering them through their suffering. And sometimes it’s just a regular person, a dad, a grandma, a whoever. But they have a quality that jumps even through a computer screen. And that quality is something that shines out when a soul is ready for life no matter the cost, even if it means that they have to be ready for death.

Paul Coakley was a guy (so I’ve heard) that was a bit of a wild man. Adventures galore and his greatest adventure was his faith. Reading all the awesome stories of things he had done, and reading about how he would take time to go out and just pray alone for a day made me realize that saintliness isn’t crazy. Taking what looks like “me time” but is really “us time” for you and Jesus is a key to getting there. It’s something that I need to schedule and prioritize.

But oh, how hard it is. When I’m standing at the ocean in June it’s so easy to pray. Even when it’s cold breezes and salty sand in my shoes, there’s something that just eases my soul. But now, in winter, in the cold and the gray I’m not there. My soul is in hibernation and I don’t know how to call it out.

So I’m going to pray to a guy who so many people know is a saint. I’m going to ask him to intercede for me, for my soul… that instead of my soul hiding away that it can break free and take me on the adventure that God wants to take me on. That all my worries, which have suddenly multiplied like waves before a hurricane and seem poised to drown me will recede with the fury of the ocean leaving with the tide. That those worries, which can’t just disappear will fade out, until I can get that breather and be ready for high tide when it comes again. That if a wave should overpower me I can just take a deep breath and relax in the ocean until I can surface again. That instead of fearing the waves I can embrace God’s will and know that He will take care of me and my family and that we don’t need to worry.

I’m going to pray to Paul, so that I can live like Paul. And also for a little miracle… just a little one for our family, but from everything I’ve heard about Paul I’m quite sure he’ll understand why we need it.